The
Fool

he
Fool is the card that, perhaps more than any other,
epitomizes the tarot deck
itself.
The major arcana have been described as "the Fool's
journey" - if the other cards in the deck represent
a spiritual landscape and its inhabitants, The Fool
is the one who explores that landscape: the Fool is
each of us.

The
separateness of The Fool goes back to the very
origins of the Tarot. This card was never regarded
as one of the "triumphs" (the term used for the
remaining 21 major arcana, which gave rise to the
modern word "trump"). In most old decks, The Fool
received no number. In the game of tarot, The Fool
and The World are the only two cards that cannot be
lost to another player. If you draw them, you are
guaranteed to receive their considerable bonus of
points and come that much closer to winning the
game.

In the
culture of medieval Europe, the character of the
fool was something of a social relief valve. He was
the lowest of the low. (Although it makes our
modern sensibilities recoil, this was a time when
people who were mentally or emotionally ill or
"different" were routinely outcast, left to live on
the streets, and derided.) But being beyond the
pale of the class system and its hierarchies did
have its ironic blessings: the fool could truly say
and do as he pleased, because there was no point in
impressing anyone. His low status also inspired
some to see him as the paradigm of Christian
humility: the fool, bereft of money, status, or
pretention, was nearer to God than the rest of us.
One need only read _King Lear_ to get a sense of
the ironic quality of the fool, which could be used
to great effect by a gifted writer or
performer.

Modern
Tarot interpretation emphasizes The Fool's
spontaneity and innocence, painting quite a
positive image of the card as the quintessential
symbol of "Beginner's Mind". I sometimes think this
is too shallow an interpretation. How many of us,
eager to achieve The Fool's innocence, are willing
to also take on his homelessness, his torn
clothing, and his total lack of status and respect?
The Fool is not, in the end, a very realistic role
model for most of us.

In my
own system of understanding the major arcana, The
Fool represents the direct connection between the
physical and emotional worlds. When it rains, he is
wet. When it is dark, he sleeps. When there is no
food, he is hungry. When someone is kind, he is
happy. When someone is cruel, he is hurt. He lives
in the emotional immediacy of an infant, with
little control over his environment or emotional
responses. Indeed, it has not occurred to him that
such control is possible.

Some
of us need to experience being The Fool in order to
bridge the barriers our minds have imposed between
body and feeling. If our emotions become too
rationalized, they can become knots in our physical
bodies, unacknowledged and dangerous. The Fool can
help us release these internal burdens. The Fool,
much more than any other card in the deck, knows
the value of a good cry, a primal scream, or sexual
release.

The
Fool has a dangerous side, though, because he has
no self-control, no caution, no judgment. He is
susceptible to hedonism and addiction, to
complacency and aimlessness. The Fool is solitary
because he cannot function in relationship.
Although not selfish in any sense, he simply does
not see the reciprocal bonds of relationship. He
lives so completely in the moment that
responsibility, with its extended time scale, means
nothing.

When
the Fool comes up for you, contemplate what it
means to be a true outsider, living through your
senses, without any ties or plans.

Tarot
Wisdom
is a regular feature of Starweaver's Gems from Earth and
Sky